The Son of Metis
by Mister Tea Time
Summary: What would you do if the world was at stake? Would you give up everything you had ever known? Would you join forces with complete strangers? Would you give up your sanity? Would you die for the world? Percy would, so would Thalia, so would Annabeth, so would Perseus. Confused? Good! Come inside, and take a look.
1. Chapter 1

_The son of Metis soon arrive,_

_And cause the godly reign to thrive_

_The prophecy once again is nigh_

_And soon the tyrant king will die._

_ Mother?! _Athena marveled to herself as she felt a presence enter her mind. She put her hand to her head and closed her eyes as Metis, her mother showed herself in the form of a young girl, wearing a paisley skirt and white shoes. Athena mentally bowed her head in deference, but otherwise remained outwardly emotive. Apollo looked over to Athena, having also received the prophecy, and knew that mother and daughter were currently having a mental conversation.

_ Yes, my dear Athene! _The girl said, smiling at her, with a crazed look in her eye. _We will finally be respected by those foolish Olympians! they think they are strong? We will show them the true strength of the house of Metis! _Athena scowled and rubbed her eyebrows. Apollo also scowled, as he tried to garner Athena's attention without mentally interrupting her conversation with whoever she was speaking to (her mother). Or at least that's what Apollo assumed, but he was interrupted by a thundering howl as Zeus clutched his head and began to roll around in pain, his breaths thready and unstable.

All eyes turned to Apollo or Athena, Apollo for his medical expertise and Athena because she had been the result of the last event of this magnitude. Apollo moved over to the king of the skies' side and chanted a sutra next to his father's head, causing him to stop his horrible groaning and pain. He called forward Hephaestus and Poseidon to help him, he asked Hephaestus to grab his hammer and told Poseidon to hold down one of Zeus' arms. As the smith god swung his mighty hammer, getting revenge for being thrown from the heavens, Apollo looked up to Athena and shot her a look that demanded explanation. Athena sighed and made a psychic connection to Apollo.

_My mother has become pregnant again _Athena said, looking down, abashed. _With Kronos. I don't know how it happened, or when, but the boy is coming, and he shall be the final child. _Apollo looked up from his position holding Zeus down and stared at Athena, his face slack as the news slowly sank in. Suddenly, with one final swing, a blinding purple light appeared, signaling the entrance of a new god.

Instead of the grand spectacle that Athena was when she exited Zeus' head, screaming a war-cry in full battle armor, this god appeared calmly and meekly, lying prostrate on his stomach, unconscious. Zeus soon passed out as well, falling onto Hephaestus' barrel-chest, and then being unceremoniously dropped, flat onto his face.

Knowing that Zeus would recover soon enough, and that the final child of a Titaness, and the Titan Lord of Time was higher on the priority scale, Apollo moved to provide medical aid to the new god first. As soon as Apollo put the cool metal of his stethoscope to the new arrival's chest, the previously prostrate boy leapt up and gave a quick yell, sending Apollo into early cardiopulmonary-arrest and causing everyone else in the throne room to jump out of their thrones.

"Holy shit! That was hilarious! Ya'll were like!" Here he made a face, and mockingly replayed the assembled gods' reactions. Hermes was the first to recover, while Apollo was still unconscious and turning blue on the floor. Always the first to enjoy a prank, Hermes began laughing as well, giving the new comedian a round of applause. "It was like a bad horror movie! Think Psycho, plus like Paranormal Activity and then add the Saw, and you guys were like that!"

"And plus, I think sunshine's dead." He said, gesturing to Apollo over his shoulder nonchalantly. He looked around the throne room as Hephaestus moved to Apollo's side, beckoning for Hebe from her place as cupbearer. As the mysterious figure's eyes fell on Athena they widened and a sly grin spread across his face. "Hello sister, it's been a while." Here, he paused, but as soon as Athena was about to respond, he interrupted her again. "In fact, when I last saw you, I was only about half formed, and you liked to stab me with your spear, over and over, and over again, using me as a punching bag." His sly grin faded, and now he stared at her without even a quirk of humor on his lips. "But hey, live and let live, right?"

As he finished his speech, he passed out, and fell face forward onto the marble of the throne room floor. As he laid there, something strange happened, almost as strange as the original appearance. A small portal opened up and a fox slipped through the portal, seemingly a ripple spread across the air and the fox leapt through nimbly, and laid beside the now sleeping boy, and in the fox's jaws was a staff made of yew wood, sanded smooth with a shepherds crook at one end, and a metal cap piece on either side.

"The boy's name is Perseus, but he is known by many names, sometimes as Loki, sometimes as Jester, sometimes Trickster, and even as Raven, but he is the god of treachery and deceit, and of heroes and time. He will be difficult to teach, and he will be rebellious, but once you gain his trust, he is invaluable." The fox said, looking up at the council, or what was left of it as Athena stared blankly at her hands in her lap, the full realization of the craftiness and cunning of Kronos' plan hitting her full force. Hephaestus had a god over each shoulder as he teleported to the infirmary with Zeus, and Apollo and finally, Hebe dragged Perseus. Hera was still in a bit of shock from the entire incident, along with Aphrodite, Demeter, and Artemis. Hermes was curious as to this new companion on the outside, but on the inside, he was begging and pleading that this boy could save Luke from his horrible fate. Dionysus didn't care, and Ares was too busy spurring on world war three to pay attention. If they had been paying attention, however, they would have seen Poseidon walking over to a dejected and despairing Athena, and pulling her into a hug. A sight that hadn't appeared since the fall of Greece, until now. Finally, after a few moments of a catatonic Athena, Poseidon picked her up and teleported away with her to the infirmary.

"As the Queen of the Gods, I call this meeting to a close, you are dismissed." Hera called, still thinking through Zeus' next child, and the changes he would bring about. As soon as she dismissed the council, she too teleported to the place where she found herself most comfortable, her own palace, a private sanctum where she could let her anger, and sadness, and despair, her bedroom, with a godly sized bed, pillows made of downy feathers of pegasi, and a comforter that was sown from the winds themselves. Hera threw herself onto her bed and screamed into her pillow, kicking her feet into the mattress, so angry at all the crap going on that she was willing to let her façade of anger break for the first time in eight millennia, she cried. Hera was a strong and stubborn goddess, always one to fight for what she wants, but even she had her limitations, after Apollo, Hermes, Artemis, Athena, Heracles, and Perseus, and now, finally the little bitch Thalia, but this was the final nail in the coffin. Another child of Metis would undoubtedly be a disaster, what with the prophecy and the already growing tally of bastard children, Zeus was screwed ten times till Tuesday. Perseus is the child of the prophecy, and he will overthrow Zeus. Hera could never stand it, being thrust into the background, never to be heard from again, only to end like her sister, slowly dissolving into the background, fading, powerless.

"Queen Hera, your husband wishes to see you, you are needed in the infirmary. It seems that he is awake again." A nymph, merdyl, was her name, stood hesitantly outside the queen's door, hoping that the queen wouldn't curse her for disrupting her "alone time". Hera stood from her place on the bed and caused the tearstains and dripping make up to vanish, leaving her skin unmarred, and unblemished. She opened her door and thanked the nymph, and flashed away.

The infirmary was a busy place, even after Hephaestus had left, there was still a feeling of cramped discomfort. The infirmary was rarely occupied, because gods healed faster than mortals, and could usually heal themselves, but today it had three occupants, and one of them was the main doctor of the infirmary. In the first bed upon entering, Hera saw Apollo with a needle in his arm, attached to a tube with a bag of what appeared to be ichor on the other end. In the next bed was Zeus, with bandages covering his usually thick head of hair, and in the final bed, chained to the bed was Perseus, writhing and roaring in agony. His back arched and his eyes seemed to suck in light from around him, and he seemed to go in and out of godly form, unable to keep stable. In the chair beside his bed sat Athena, looking like she was about to cry, with shaking hands, she did the only thing she could, she wiped his forehead of sweat when his body relaxed and he dropped out of godly form. Nymphs flew back and forth, checking the vitals of all the patients, and bowing to Hera as she passed. She waved them on and beckoned to Aescipules, the god of surgeons and medicine. He hurried over, frazzled, and told her how all the patients were doing, as she stood, staring down at Zeus.

"Zeus is unconscious, but he is stubborn, and will pull through. Apollo had regained consciousness, but is now asleep, completely wiped from his brush with mortal death. Perseus is imbalanced, not used to having to support his own power inside his body. If he doesn't balance out, he'll forcefully fade, and we'll be unable to resuscitate him." Aescipules said, looking at his chart, but his eyes flickered back to Hera. Hera looked down at Zeus with contempt, but she could do something about it now.

"Is there anything that we can do to rebalance Perseus?" Athena asked, having overheard Aescipules' report to Hera. "Please? He's my brother, and he needs help."

"There is nothing we can do. He is a titan in the body of a godling, without a viable titan that would allow him to take over his body, there's not-" Aescipules began, until he was disturbed by Apollo, who had only woken up to hear Athena's plea.

"There is one thing we could do, but it is dangerous, and risky, and dicey, so we'll need to be quick." Apollo took a deep breath and stood up, moving over to Perseus' bed, sitting down in the chair beside Athena. "This is the first time we've ever had a chance to test it out, but I've been working on a theory that would guarantee the safety of a god's essence, but would reduce its power to zero. It's called essence separation theory, or EST. We would separate Perseus' essence into different containers, keeping him alive, but without keeping him solely in his body. I would suggest congregating his essence into his different spheres of control. Therefore, he could remain in control of them."

"No! Let…Me! War…Need…Heroes…" Perseus called out, in fervor of shallow breaths. Athena stepped up to his bedside and placed her hand on his, seeking warmth in her newly discovered brother. "Athena…I…Love…" Suddenly, Perseus went back into a fit of seizing, as his back arched and his hand clenched around Athena's hand, and he began panting, going into and out of his godly form. Hera finally had to grab Athena's other hand with disdain and march her out of the infirmary, still blustering at her thoughts of Zeus.

"You can come back in now." Apollo stuck his head out of the infirmary again a few minutes later, covered in sweat and panting. Hera and Athena stepped in and noticed that the feeling of heaviness that had previously resided over the infirmary was gone, and Perseus was no longer ethereally seizing, and was instead, sleeping peacefully. Athena stepped up beside him and took his hand, glad that her last remaining family would survive.

"He was touch and go there for a while, but he's stable now, and as for Zeus: he's only pretending to get the nymphs to lean over his bed." Apollo said, nodding his head in the direction of Zeus. Hera almost screamed, she was just never good enough for Zeus, was she?

"That's…dumb." Perseus murmured from his bed. "His wife is right here. That's just tactless." Perseus looked over at Zeus and Hera and frowned, shaking his head at the glare that Hera was sending to Zeus, while Zeus, though begrudgingly, began to get up from his hospital bed and button his shirt up again.

"Zeus, you bastard, I'm sick of it." Hera began, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples. "I'm sick of you leaving me to sit and be some shut-in wife that you don't care for. I hate you, and I hope that Perseus overthrows you, even if I'm no longer queen." Hera finished, quietly, tears streaming from her eyes. Perseus sat up from his bed and looked over at Hera questioningly, until he finally stood up and walked over to Hera's side, looking down at Zeus, smiling madly.

"So, Zeus, how does it feel to know that I am your demise?" Perseus asked, looking down at the currently writhing king of the gods. He reached over to Hera's hand and took it in his own, looking over to her. "Hera, the reign of Zeus is over, and I don't plan on harming you, so don't worry, when this is over, I will help you punish him, and some of his children. I don't really know you, but I'm currently going through my teenage rebellion stage, and neither my father, nor my mother like you, so I do like you. So come to me, and my side, and I'll let you retain your place as queen of the gods, and you could rule at the side of a more worthy king, definitely not me, but a better king nonetheless." Hera looked between Zeus and Perseus for a few moments, but finally shook her head softly and went to stand by Zeus' head. Perseus looked at her with a confused expression on his face, but finally nodded and looked at her sadly, stepping over to Apollo and Athena.

"So, Apollo, Athena, will you join me in my quest to bring peace to America?" He asked, pulling the two close to him. Apollo shook his head and stepped away from the two, looking guilty, but Athena merely remained silent, staring at her brother, and shook her head. Perseus pulled away and nodded, his eyes wide, but there was not anger in his face. He just looked sad.

"You stand alone at the foot of giants, and you show such courage, but your demise is inevitable. I suggest you simply sit back, and fall in line, because you cannot win this war, son of Metis." Zeus said as he stood up from his position, placing his hand on Hera's shoulder, causing her to flinch.

"Okay, just let me go…write up a surrender treaty." He said, snarling the last few words.

As Perseus walked through Olympus, thoroughly lost, but pretending he isn't. He walked purposefully in no direction in particular, and found himself in a garden surrounded by marble statues and flowering blooms of all shapes and sizes. He walked into one small cove where he found a plethora of nuts and acorns strewn across the ground, and a statue of Zeus across from him. Without thinking, Perseus leaned down while still walking purposefully and scooped up three acorns and threw them up in the air. As the acorns fell, Perseus whipped out a cane, which seemed to appear out of thin air, and hit all three acorns with a swift blow, and just as the first two acorns hit the Zeus statue in both of his eyes, the third acorn was abruptly pulled out of its path, and punctured by a silver arrow. Perseus turned toward the shooter and gave her an almost tired glance before without warning; he launched two pinecones at Artemis. She quickly drew two more arrows and fired them off with perfect accuracy, shattering both of them in midair. This time, the auburn haired goddess drew an arrow first and fired at him, but he batted it aside, into the statue of Zeus with his cane and Zeus' head shattered and Perseus smiled. Artemis glowered at him and drew another arrow before the staff began to transform, until soon it was a long, wicked sharp katana, which he held skillfully, aiming it downward, while holding his the hilt at eye level. Artemis raised an eyebrow but fired her bow anyway, the arrow being split in two by a quick swipe of his katana.

"You can't keep this up forever."

"Neither can you." Perseus replied calmly, his katana changing back into a staff, before it turned into a brass snake that slithered up his sleeve and vanished into his skin. Artemis let her bow lower slightly and smiled.

"So, why are you here?" Artemis asked, looking down as she let her bow fade into moonlight. Perseus smiled and walked over to a bench and sat down, shrugging.

"I could ask you the same thing. I thought that all of the Olympians would be huddling together and discussing how to quietly send me home and keep me from interfering any longer." Perseus smiled glumly and looked her up and down. She was petite, small, and nimble. She had almost mid-back length ginger auburn hair and eerie opalescent silver yellow eyes that seemed to glow, casting shadows along her sharp cheekbones. She looked young, but she was beautiful, or at least she would be when she grew up. Artemis, though subconsciously, was doing the same. Perseus was tall, much taller than normal mortals, with a thick, long mane of black, almost blue hair, and piercing target eye irises. The inside ring of his irises were gold, while the center ring was gray and the outer ring of his iris was a strange brassy color, and his eyelashes were like feathers, thick and dark.

"I don't agree with them. They're too paranoid, and I have my own friends who the gods don't trust, and even though you're a boy, you seem…interesting. I'm curious, but I have no plans of becoming your friend. I don't trust you, but you're talented, therefore, you should become an ally, not a hindrance." Artemis then paused and her eyes narrowed, and suddenly she launched an arrow into the tree line.

"Eek!" There came a voice from behind a tree. "Don't hurt me! I- I just- don't hurt me!" Aphrodite sashayed out from behind the tree, trying to look as dignified as possible with an arrow inches from her head. Perseus looked at her, and instantly, was entranced. She was his definition of beauty, with long, thick eyelashes that rounded violet eyes and curly brunette hair that billowed out around her shoulders and went down to the small of her back. Artemis rolled her eyes as Perseus sucked in a big gulp of air and brushed his hair back. All men acted this way around Aphrodite. Sometimes Artemis just wanted to rip some men's head's off, but it wasn't because they were disrespecting women. It just seemed that no one paid attention to Artemis like that. Artemis didn't care when she was actually twelve, but now that she was mature, she sought a partner, or a helpmeet. There was no one that paid attention to her as much as they paid attention to Aphrodite. Maybe it was jealousy, but Artemis hated how it made her feel. But she hated how boys looked at Aphrodite more.

"Though it appears that you aren't alone either." Aphrodite said as she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at Perseus and winked. "So, are you two kids having fun, or is Artemis being her usual, boring, celibate self. Because if you aren't having fun Perseus, then maybe you and I can have some fun later."

Perseus smiled and opened his mouth and said. "Sure, but you have to tell me something." Perseus put his hand to his chin and paused. "Do I look stupid? Or do you just try this on every guy you meet?" He asked, wiping away the shrouding mist that Aphrodite contorted around her. The mist was being held together by Aphrodite's willpower, but Perseus' willpower was stronger. He sliced through it like shears through fabric, and pierced the veil. Aphrodite was scared, a terrified little girl that used sex and lust to protect herself from the big bad world outside. She didn't like reaching out emotionally herself, so she used others as chess pieces, just to stay above it all.

"Interesting…" He mused, looking through the mist and focusing on what Aphrodite was beyond the shell. She was a sixteen year old girl who didn't like how she looked. She had pale skin and brunette hair. She had large hazel eyes and thin lips, with eyelashes that darkened her entire face, and low bangs.

"Hello there!" Perseus said, once the mist had been peeled away. "There's the real you. How are you?" He asked, and for the first time in a long time, Aphrodite felt very naked, even more naked than when she was naked, she was bare, and exposed.

"How- How did you do that?" Aphrodite asked, covering herself with her hands, even though she was fully dressed in a long red dress. She looked panicked, and for a moment, she blushed and let a tear drop down her cheek.

"There's no way!" Aphrodite shrieked. "I'm more capable with the mist than even Hecate herself. You couldn't cut away my powers if I allowed it. Hecate herself has tried and failed, in fact, every god has tried and failed…How?" She asked, and Perseus simply smiled.

"Love, is an emotion, the mist is a lie, and I live on lies, and have completely different emotions than the rest of you. In the back of their minds, they didn't want to see the real you, they wanted to see you as you were, but me, I think you look better this way. Truth makes me…well, happy. When you used the mist to lie, it made me angry."

"Artemis, can you see this?" Aphrodite asked, emphasizing herself, and Artemis gave her a confused look and asked.

"See what? It's just you." Artemis tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes. She saw Aphrodite just the same, but Perseus seemed to be seeing something completely different.

"You know, you're not a bad looking person, but I'm sorry, even when you're my type, you're not my type. I prefer people who are real, your control over the mist, though much like mine, is rather off-putting. So, just be honest with yourself, and to everyone else. Otherwise, you seem like a bit of a bitch." Perseus said, looking at her piteously. He walked up to her without another word and put his arm around her petite shoulders. She was still shivering, but she seemed calmer now.

"So, Artemis, why don't you show me around Olympus?" Perseus asked, pulling Aphrodite along with him, toward Artemis. He wrapped his other arm around Artemis and they all moved out of the clearing whose only occupant now was a decapitated Zeus statue. Artemis and Aphrodite being together was a rare sight, but them talking and actually laughing together was even stranger.

This Line Is The Most Broken Line You Will Ever See.

"This is working so much better than I had hoped!" Metis said as she laughed in delight, throwing her head back and cackling at the ceiling. "So much change already, and in only one day. Soon my son will overthrow the very roots of Olympus and rebuild their power under my name. I shall be queen again and I will not be usurped by that upstart Hera!" Metis clenched her fist, and stared down again at her son as he walked down the streets of Olympus with two valuable pieces in his arms. However, while she stared intently at the life of her son, her daughter fell apart. She had always felt alone because she only had her father to go to for advice or risk losing her pride. She couldn't even go to him now because he hated her brother as much as she loved him. She wanted to talk to her mother, but she was unresponsive. She wanted to talk to her brother, but he was convinced that she hated him, and she wanted to talk to her father, but he was directly opposed to her opinion about her brother.

"What do I do?" She asked, staring up, into the skies of Olympus, seeking wisdom from one higher than the gods. She had assumed that no answer would come, but even wisdom does not guarantee omniscience. An answer came in the form of Perseus, walking down the road, directly toward her.

"You get off your lazy ass. That's what you do. You knew me only as a dummy, and I didn't realize that before now, but now I realize that you are as much my sister as Percy is my child. I won't let you go, and I won't give up on you, so don't give up on me, because I'm going to be angry for a while, but I'll always love you." He said, smiling at her coyly and winking at her at the end. He then stood up and continued his descent to the bottom of Olympus, but when he was out of sight of Athena, he disappeared.

"Who's Percy?" Athena muttered to herself as she watched Perseus saunter off.


	2. Chapter 2

There were doctors, and then there were New York doctors. Doctors might see ten GSW's in their career, but New York doctors could see that many in one day. Admittedly, there were worse places to be a doctor, like Chicago, Boston, Hell, Los Angeles, even Detroit but New York doctors got used to some seriously gruesome occurrences. So to say that three New York doctors saw my condition as an atrocity to mankind, was saying something.

"You've broken all of your ribs. You have punctured both lungs, and they'll probably have to be drained multiple times a month from here on out. Your womb has been literally cut out, and your eyes have both been singed by a match being put out on them. You have several fractures along your legs, and one of your hands was cut off, while the scapula in your other shoulder was completely shattered- Oh, God! I don't know why I'm saying this!" The flighty, panicked nurse started to cry and rushed out, not realizing that I could hear her, and if I had the ability to, I would have screamed, but that's the first thing my attackers took from me; my tongue.

There was nothing I could do now but sit through the horrible pain, try to dull my mind with a morphine drip. The uniform 'plop, plop, plop', without the positive effect of the pain relief. Thalia was a flesh and bone coffin that contained me. I didn't move because she couldn't. I didn't cry out because she couldn't. I didn't die because she couldn't. It was hell on Earth, but as the scenery changed, twisting and writhing, I thought to myself, maybe it wasn't on Earth at all...

The landscape around me was steadily changing from a hospital to a palace with each breathe. Finally, the tubes, gurneys, antiseptic smell, and beeping monitors were replaced with soaring columns of marble and quartz chandeliers, the smell of honeysuckle and the faint hum of a harp.

"Normally by now I'd have said something cryptic and confusing, but I believe that if anyone deserves some real talk, it's you." It was one of those dreams again, the ones where everything is being narrated. The voice was indescribable, like someone had taken Morgan Freeman, mixed his voice with lead singer from Led Zeppelin, and then threw in a dash of Freddie Mercury and stirred, but there was something else too. It was smooth, but strong, not like an eel, more like a fox. "Ooh! I'm a fox, huh?!" The voice asked, and suddenly a fox appeared beside me, it's jaws bared and it's fangs slathering, it made a strange barking sound, somewhere between a yip and a howl...it was laughing? The fox was laughing? At me?!

"Yeah, you're pretty slow, aren't you?!" There are very few people who can't tell a god by their form...unless...no..." The voice whispered, almost shattering my eardrum with the power behind his words. The fox then curled into a ball at my feet and erupted into a column of fire which promptly vanished and reappeared as a man, he stood about six foot ten inches, with obsidian eyelashes, and a quirk of his lips that made him seem like a maniac. His eyes were an emerald green with an opulescent core, and a nose like David Tennant's. In other words, he looked like a as insane as he sounded.

"Two weeks ago, I told Zeus that you would be needed in the upcoming war. I told him that if he told you that you were a demigod and that he was your father that I would protect you, make you invisible." I frowned, this guy was making about as much sense as a pen with an eraser. But something seemed to tingle in the back of my head. It was a faint memory of my mother. I had a picture of my dad at one time, but there was something abnormal about him. Other than leaving us on our own with nothing but an extra mouth to feed, he strayed from the usual deadbeat/douche mold. He wasn't a gambler, nor was he a poor dude, he just didn't care about my mom, or me for that matter. I looked up at the fox/dude and he smiled kindly at me. "Come on, let me introduce you to the family."

I smiled, he sounded like an Italian mobster, and I tried to imagine him in a pin-stripe three piece with a thick Brooklyn accent. Completed with a black fedora. I opened my eyes from my small laughing fit and I couldn't believe it. He looked just as I had imagined, clad in a scarlet dress shirt and pinstripe pants. He was a dead ringer for Scarface.

"Thanks! I kinda like the Al Pacino look myself. Nice...Nice." He smiled at me and I tried to refrain from laughing at the swaggering footsteps that he began to take, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and nodded to some random person we passed. I blinked, we were encountering people? When did that happen? We were supposed to be alone. I don't remember there being people.

"Oh, sorry about them! They're projections, but don't worry! They're harmless enough, usually." He tried at convincing, but he sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than me. Slowly, the street emptied and the crowds dissipated, and the two of us were standing in front of a huge set of double doors. He leaned back and without turning around, gripped my hand. I frowned, but with a swipe of his hands, the door opened with ease. Suffice to say, I decided to stay.

"This, is the council. These are the gods. This is a farce, and they're all at odds." Perseus said, acting bored while surveying the room until his eyes landed on three women. They were all tall, and not Shaq tall, more like, 'Taking out Tokyoo, here comes Godzilla!', tall. (Props to anyone who gets the reference). So, these three really couldn't be judged by their height, but one of them was giving off a real; 'redheaded step-child' vibe, with, well, red hair and a grimace on her face. Not to say that she wasn't pretty, she was just...well, young. The one in the center was pretty intimidating, she had her whole glare going on, staring down at the floor with furrowed brows, but it was hard to take her seriously with the far-away look in her dark gray eyes. The girl on the end though, she was in a class all her own. She was by far the most mundane of all the people in the room, with their crisp cut clothes, their neatly trimmed beards and their flowing hair and dresses, they were all like models, but this was a teenage girl, normal, (other than being taller than small McMansions), with unruly hair, psychedelic eyes and her legs lounging across the arms of her chair, with her little smart phone, flicking at the touch screen and occasionally giggling. "They're sorta boring." My kidnapper said, disturbing my thoughts on his thoughts.

"Yeah. But they're all tall." I muttered, causing him to look back at me and smile. He nodded as he turned to look around some more before his head suddenly lurched back toward the trio from earlier and his head perked up. "What?". I asked.

"I think I've found our seat. Come along Thalia, it's not polite to keep our guests waiting." The guy in front of me said and I realized for the first time, I didn't know his name. I opened my mouth to say something, but quickly closed it again as the door burst open behind me. 'Dude', for lack of his name, dragged me behind the throne of the middle woman, and I saw something strange. "Hello, Hestia! How are you doing?"

"I'm quite fine now that you're here, Perseus. I've been looking after these two, as I promised, now, please do put on a good little performance! And you, my dear, are going to have a hard life ahead, but I'll always be here for you." A young, mousy woman said, looking first at the newly named Perseus, and then at me. I tried to process what she had just said, but suddenly it was made very apparent; Perseus had arrived.

"There are two of you." I said, surprised. Perseus just smiled and nodded his head, looking proud of himself. "I suppose I should be surprised?" I asked, leaning my head to the side. I tried to take it all in stride, but it was disturbing.

I had always lived by the code that if I couldn't prove it with science, and I couldn't see it, it couldn't be real. I had assumed that gods were stories, that there could only be one of you in the same room at a time, even that people didn't come in sizes larger than basketball courts. I assumed all this because of the simple fact that I'd never seen evidence countering that premise, but here I was, surrounded by the statue of liberty's tallest cousins, with two of my chauffeur in the room and apparently, I was surrounded by gods. Well, shit! Why am I just learning this now?!

He looked back at me, quirked his eyebrow and smiled, leaning toward me and kissing me on the cheek. "Thalia, my dear, there are much more amazing things than this to be surprised at." I blushed at him and he winked at me.

"Then I don't think I want to be part of your world bro!" I argued adamantly, stomping my steel toed boots, but the sound never even made it to the walls to echo. "So, how about you just wake me up in bed again without any of this shit and I'll just write all this 'gods' crap off as a bad acid trip, eh?" I pushed Perseus, but as soon as I touched him, I felt sick. He grabbed my arm and frowned, slowly sidling me to the ground, but as soon as I was on the floor, the other Perseus began to talk.

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen!" Perseus said, sounding like a game show host. "Have I got something for you!" He walked all the way into the middle and raised his arms like an WWE wrestler. He looked at all of the faces around him and he smiled widely, his teeth almost blindingly white. The annoying looking pissant in the biggest throne gave him a glare and slammed his staff into the ground, making it sound as if thunder was rolling right above my head.

"I, Lord Zeus, command you, announce yourself, fool! Some of us still stand on principle, unlike you, usurper!" The bandage bearded giant said. Perseus looked him in the eye and flipped him the bird, drawing a strange item out of nowhere. A shepherd's crook. He walked back to the center, near the hearth, and turned around, it looked as if he was going to bow to the council, but instead, at the last minute, he turned to the three women we were standing behind and bowed to them.

"Miladies. I am Loki, god of lies, heroes, the passing of time, and father of the fox, son of the snake, and foreboder of Ragnarok. I bow in the presence of such beauty, wisdom, and skill." He said and I turned to look at my Perseus. I nodded at him and he shrugged.

"Smooth talker." I muttered and he smiled, nodding in affirmation.

"Hello Jester, how are you?" The grey eyed goddess said, looking at the 'god of lies' with humor in her eyes. He smiled, winked at her, and motioned at his forehead, and then to hers. She laughed.

"Hey Perseus, I got that app you told me about. It's awesome." The one on the end said, leaning forward and winking at Perseus, who bit his bottom lip erotically and winked flirtatiously at her. There was no doubt that she was crushing on Perseus. All three of them were.

"Hello Raven, how are your scars healing?" The redhead asked, and the brunette smiled coyly, as if challenging her. But she met his eyes calmly.

"Want to see, Artemis?" Perseus asked, looking at Artemis with a sensual love in his eyes. "I can take off my shirt-?" He was cut off by a blush from the redhead and a grunt from the fortune five-hundred exec. who cleared his throat and gave my chauffeur a glare. He smiled and looked at Zeus. "Down to business then?"

Just as everyone began to shift into their seats and calm down, the blonde across the main pavilion jerked upright and ran straight toward the hearth, throwing himself across the coals and spewing strange words out of his mouth. Perseus wrapped his arms around my shoulders and forced me to turn around, and stare straight into his eyes. I heard the strangled cries from behind me as the man seized across the room.

"You don't want to see this, trust me." Loki said, leaning his chin on my head while whispering in my ear. "Apollo's not going to be doing too hot for a while. That's the blonde's name, just in case you were wondering." I nodded in understanding and saw that the blonde had disappeared, and Perseus was deep in conversation with the bearded king of the gods. I buried my head in Perseus' shoulder again and frowned, feeling some bond form between me and the man straight from my dreams, literally. Perseus began to stroke my head and I sighed, there was nothing stopping me now, I looked back at Perseus and nodded and he seemed to understand my sentiment exactly.

"I'm going to wake up, aren't I?" I asked Perseus and he nodded. "You better be there when I wake up, you slimy bastard." Perseus smiled down at me and kissed my forehead. I hugged him tightly again and closed my eyes, opening them again to see something I wasn't expecting.

"Ah, hello Ms. Grace, I'm your doctor, but you can call me Perseus though." It was him…

He was dressed in a white lab coat over a t-shirt and jeans. he wore thick rimmed glasses and a stethoscope around his neck. "Miss me?" He asked, winking at me.


	3. Chapter 3

I quit.

Mr. Tea Time No More


	4. Chapter 4

**This goes out to my new friend: BoredWayWardDragon: for keeping me from quitting.**

"So, question of the day!" Perseus declared, lowering his sunglasses as he looked up at the boorish brick building in front of his newly acquired motorcycle. "Why are all of my kids in hospitals?! Why can't I pop into a random high school and pick one of you up like you're normal?!" He pleaded, his whining voice grating on Thalia's ears.

Thalia briefly considered responding, but decided against it and simply slid off the bike, squinting hard at a sign nearby, as if willing the letters to stop making figure eights and drawing gentlemen's-sausages in the air. "What does that sign even say?"

"Uncle Lucifer's Mortuary and Sanitarium." Perseus lied straight-faced. Thalia stared up at him in disbelief until he replied with a challenging look of his own. She quickly looked back at the sign and squinted even harder until Perseus laughed once, mussed up her hair and corrected himself. "St. Jonathan's mental institute."

"Phew! I'd hate to think that you had an uncle named Lucifer." Thalia playfully jibed. Perseus smiled and lead her inside, their clothes suddenly becoming monkey-suits, and holsters and radios appearing at their belts. Thalia gulped and squirmed slightly, not used to a pantsuit, but Perseus simply ushered her in, giving her a comforting smile. "Thank you, agent Mulder."

"Of course Scully." He replied and quickly traipsed to the desk, his shoulders squared, yet his gait relaxed. "Hello, I'm here to see one of your patients, a Mr..." Here he pulled out a slip of paper and scanned it quickly. "Perseus Jackson?"

"I'm afraid visitation hours are over, Perseu-" As soon as the forked tongue slid from between her lips, and her voice began to change, Thalia began to feel the full effect of this new life settle upon her Fuck. Monsters too, really dude?. However, at that exact moment, Perseus had also gone quick-draw-McGraw on the snake lady and shot her in the face.

"Thank you, but I'm family." He replied, his grin marred only by the golden sparkly stuff that coated his head. "Well, Scully, it looks like the truth isn't just out there, but also in here! Stay close to me, and if anything moves, shoot it once while screaming loudly."

Thalia managed a squeak in reply as Perseus shook his head like a wet dog and tried to clean the monster dust off of himself. After rinsing his head a few times in a random sink, Perseus lead Thalia down a long and winding hallway, every few minutes another snake lady would pop into their path before getting shot down by either Perseus' calculating Baretta, or Thalia's shaking Luger.

"So, a parishioner and a doctor are coming down the road toward my house because we were supposed to have one of those high society get-togethers, where we talk about boring stuff, but instead, I decided that I'd come out and invite them in. With a flintlock. Dressed as a mugger." A voice seeped through the walls, getting louder as Perseus and Thalia crept closer to the only occupied rubber room. "Stand and Deliver! I yelled that twice and they both were off like rockets!"

Thalia peeked around the final corner as her eyes widened and she barely gulped down the bile rising in her throat. Percy was standing in the middle of the hall, covered in...something. It was gray, and it bubbled, occasionally a large droplet would slide down his arm as he dragged his nails along the chest of another of the snake ladies. His smile was Indescribable. He truly appeared happy, beyond the gray goop and the repeated assault of the snake lady, one might think he was just having a nice conversation, it wasn't the smile of a madman, or of a psycho, but the scariest part was the ease with which he shoved his hand into the trunk of the snake lady again and again, relentlessly hacking at her organs. It was enough to unsettle even Perseus as he fired a bullet through the temples of the tormented demon nurse. A tattered candy-striper uniform fell to the floor.

"That was for Nancy, you demonic bitch." The gray-stained boy spat, looking between the uniform on the floor and the two new occupants of the hall. "Are you guys supposed to be some kind of demon hunters?"

"No, we're your family."

"Well, the two aren't mutually exclusive." Percy responded to Perseus' assertion with a coy smirk at Thalia. Thalia smiled, reminded of one of her street gang friends, always up to prove someone wrong, or just have the last word. "So, how are we related? Are you like my third cousin twice removed in my mother's father's brother's side?"

"Perseus, let me talk to him?" Thalia pleaded as Percy stepped back into his cell and closed the door behind him. Perseus smiled at her and nodded. "Why don't you make sure the building's cleared?"

"Got it boss!"

Perseus drew his gun and continued down the hallway as Thalia stepped up to Percy's door, looking in the barred window. "Can I come in?"

"No, my only company is death." Percy whispered hauntingly. Thalia shrugged and stepped into the cell anyway.

"Sounds like my kind of party." Thalia said, smirking mischievously, causing Percy to smile as well. "I'm Thalia, the guy you just met is Perseus."

"So I heard." He paused. The silence lay pregnant with anticipation. "I'm Percy..." The silence began to go from pregnant to awkward. "Hell, you should friend me on Facebook."

"Nobody uses Facebook anymore. How long have you been in here, and while we're playing getting to know you, why?" Thalia asked, already fearing the answer.

"Let me show you." He held out his hand and she took it without hesitation, and saw the room. It was blank, and not sanitarium blank, not even rubber room blank, there weren't even shadows, it was just a blank white cube...

...Filled to the brim with people...very dead people. Marie Antoinette, holding her chignon laden head tenderly in her right arm, rubbing shoulders with George Washington, flirting shamelessly, and Adolf Hitler patting his hair down around the gaping hole in the top of his head. There was a man wearing a neatly tailored suit, surgical gear and carrying a briefcase. There was a young man wearing a Greek Chiton, his right arm was severed (he was holding it in his left hand) and his chest had a gaping hole in it. His entire face was a mess of scars and bruises. There were more, and they milled about like a ocean of faces, each laughing, or talking, chatting away and overall being very not dead. Nobody was showing any signs of anger, fear or some macabre death howl, and it scared Thalia. Why were these dead people so alive?

Death was something that Thalia was pretty used to, she had grown up in a place where someone could decompose for days on end in a dark alley before some meth head, looking for a place to peddle his buick(a euphemism for vomit). Gunshots and police sirens intermingled to form a grim cacophony in Thalia's backyard, but the death in this...box was so pungent that it enveloped all the senses.

"Do you understand now?" Perseus asked her, turning slowly so that she could see the extent of the room. The longer she stood there, the more historical faces she began to see, Genghis Khan, General Farragut, Napoleon Bonaparte, and there seemed to be no end in sight. "This is what you see in my head, but even when I'm awake, they're there. Four or five of them will slip through the cracks, and I'll see their face instead of someone else's face, and sometimes...sometimes one of them will take over. They're always here. They don't go away. I killed people because of them, and I can't take that back. I killed my mother and my step-father...I don't regret him so much...but I got used to the blood, and I honestly think that sickens me the most."

"Percy...you just went serious zen deep shit on me there." Thalia said, letting go of Percy's hand and running her hand through her hair. "But that doesn't matter."

Thalia took a deep breath and looked at the door, making sure that Perseus wasn't back yet. "Two days ago, every bone in my body was broken. I didn't have lungs. I had a snowball's chance in hell of surviving, but then along came Perseus, he said some crazy rhyme, showed me some thirty foot tall gods or something, and two hours later, I was healed. I didn't know him and he didn't know me, but I looked into his eyes, and...I didn't feel the pain anymore. I had a sort of...hope, I guess? I don't know what it was, but in two hours, he managed to turn from a crazy stranger to the only real father I've had. I don't know what you believe in, but I just went from atheist to child of a god in those two hours, so maybe, just maybe, Perseus can work some miraculous crap with you too."

Percy just smiled and looked down, his eyes looked almost comically doey and his eyebrows were knitted like a homemade sweater. "I've lived my whole life followed by ghosts, I don't think gods are too big of a stretch."

"Hot damn Thalia, you almost made me cry." Perseus whistled, he looked between the two and smiled. "Thalia, you've been like a daughter to me, and Perseus, you're the son I wish I had had."

"Thanks pops, I feel the love bro." Thalia said jokingly. Perseus stuck his tongue out and approached the duo, sitting across from them with his legs crossed.

Both Percy and Thalia laughed looking at him strangely, Percy at Perseus' mention of wanting a son, and Thalia at Perseus' opening statement. "So, can you help me?" Percy asked without looking back at Perseus.

"I can, and I will, but first I need to show you something." Perseus said and he sat beside Perseus, opposite Thalia. "Take my hand and close your eyes. Smile and wait for your big surprise."

There weren't as many people as last time. That wasn't just a fact, it was an understatement. There was only one person in the room. Percy's mother.

"What happened to them?" Percy asked, looking around the room for Jack the Ripper, Julius Caesar, and Jonathan Hornblower. "Where are all the dead people?"

"I redecorated." Perseus responded, a smile plastered on his face. "Have you not noticed the doors, the couches, there's even a coffee table and a chaise, but noo! All you notice is that it''s not so crowded!"

"I personally couldn't give a damn about this place. It's not like I'm sticking around for tea and crumpets, so why should I care about the coffee table?" Percy asked. Perseus sighed and shook his head, grabbing Percy's hand and dragging him forward toward the woman. "Why am I going where I am going?"

"You're going to be sociable because I told you to, and you are coming with me for the sole purpose of showing you that you can. Now shut up and say hello!" Perseus said, smiling kindly at the people in the room. "Sally, this is your son when he turns twelve, Percy, this is your mother and she loves you very much."

"Hi...mom…" Percy said, smiling madly as tears streamed down his face. Sally smiled too, brushing her hand down the side of her son's face as she began to inaudibly whisper 'I love you', over and over. "I missed you so much. I'm so sorry, I never meant to hurt you. I love you so much."

"Percy! My sweet Percy, it was never your fault. I never blamed you." Sally began to sob, her eyes dusky with tears. Percy and Perseus both nodded, Percy sniffled as he was hugged both his mother and his new father. "Perseus? Will you take care of my Percy?"

"I will help him in ways that you can barely imagine." Perseus said quietly, looking mournfully at Sally, his eyes weak for the first time in his immortal life. "Now, Percy, we need to leave, there's work to be done, and it's time for us to make a little girl's day."

Percy opened his eyes and let go of Perseus' hand, wiping his eyes as Thalia sighed in relief. Perseus chuckled at Thalia's reaction before hugging both of his children to his chest. "Family isn't bound by blood...or some other deep quote." He leaned back and smirked. "Who wants burgers?"

"God no!" Percy yelled, crossing himself. Thalia looked at him, aghast, as did Perseus. "Do you know what McDonald's puts in those burgers?! I do! I'm not ever eating a burger again!"

"I don't eat at McDonald's, so I don't care." Thalia retorted, but she still looked a little green at the thought.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Perseus interrupted, stepping between the two. "Alright, let's go somewhere with variety then. Somewhere where you can get a burger, and Percy, you can get something else."

"Fine." They both said at the same time, examining each other.

"Dang, you guys are so alike." Perseus noted, and they both rolled their eyes simultaneously. "Anyway, we can grab something to eat on our way to Virginia, I have a niece that I think you guys might like to meet, let's go break her out of prison, eh?"

"Who says 'dang' anymore?" Thalia asked offhandedly. "Seriously dad?"

Perseus smiled to himself, shrugging innocently, but inside he was ecstatic, _she had called him dad_.


End file.
